Duck Duck Goose
by Daedreamer
Summary: Modern day AU for Nirvana in Fire. Mei Changsu is a very..ahem..well liked young man. He has his pick of some of the most handsome, popular, and successful men on campus but has his heart set on one in particular.


I just finished watching and reading Nirvana in Fire. Love this series, but am currently going through withdrawal =P

As much as I understand the ending, I still find myself yearning for that elusive "happily ever after" for my OTP.

This work was written as a birthday present for my sister, who spotted this pairing within the first few episodes of Nirvana in Fire (and I agreed with her as soon as she pointed it out).

Also, Quidditch is mentioned here and I know that they go off pitch, which is no longer allowed after the release of Rulebook 8. Clearly I've taken liberties with the rules here.

* * *

Xiao Jingrui was a nice guy. He was tall and good-looking with a ready smile and kind demeanor. He could strike up casual conversation with just about everyone on campus. His grades weren't top of the class but they were well within the 90th percentile for his major. He was also mature and level-headed. He was the kind of boy a mother would want for her daughter. Though currently, _that_ would seem unlikely.

Jingrui was currently in the university library and the sunlight filtering down from the high-arched secular stained glass windows of the antique marble structure caught his form at an angle that made his entire physique glow. A few girls sighed dreamily at him while working on a project nearby.

 _He_ sighed dreamily towards a dusty, barely visible corner on the other end of the public reading room.

At that moment, an irregularly shaped blob seemed to move a little from the very same corner.

Jingrui's breath caught as he tried not to stare.

The "blob" turned and by now Jingrui could make out that it was indeed the object of his affections.

And miraculously, the "blob" slowly stood up and began walking in Jingrui's general direction!

Jingrui felt his mouth go dry.

Mei Changsu was walking towards him!

Before Jingrui could decide what to say, the "blob" was already in front of him.

The "blob", also known as Mei Changsu, was a tall, thin young man bundled up in what looked like a both a puffer jacket and a throw blanket. He looked pale and sickly. That wasn't to say this young man was unattractive. He was. Attractive, that is. He was attractive in a subtle way that became alluring and handsome both in appearance and in something less…material…the more you looked at him. It was in the way the young man's every movement was imbued with a quiet and calm grace – as if he were a cool ray of filtered light from the stained glass windows, or as if he were a puff of dust blown around and settling after someone retrieved one of the less popular books on the upper shelves of the restricted alcoves. He seemed like a part of the very space he stood, but he seemed at the same time to be the sole ray of light shining in the many and the one book that pulled at the mind though hidden behind volumes of encyclopedic tombs.

At the moment, the frail young man was gazing at Jingrui with his eyes as clear as water. His head was tilted slightly to the side and his pale lips were quirked in a half-amused grin. In his hands was a textbook that looked much too thick to be supported by the young man's long, thin arms.

Seeing that Jingrui finally seemed to come out of whatever self-imposed daze he was in, Mei Changsu finally spoke in a tranquil tone, "I saw that you are on the waiting list of this book. I'm done with it now so you can have it."

Jingrui opened and closed his mouth twice before his usually eloquent self finally made a reappearance.

"Oh! Thank you. I wanted to reference it for my mid-term paper," Jingrui found himself saying, "I didn't know you were in political science?"

Mei Changsu only smiled wanely, "I'm not. The book binding sparked my curiosity when I was walking past the poli-sci section to get to the library café this morning."

Since Jingrui was still processing the fact that Mei Changsu was speaking to him and the actual content of what the latter had spoken, he was silent and Mei Changsu continued, "But I seem to be interfering with several of your reads lately. Just the other day I came to continue reading a treatise on tax laws when I saw that you had it checked out right after me."

"Ah…no…that's alright. The assignment wasn't due for another week anyways," Jingrui replied, avoiding eye contact so that his blushing wouldn't escalate and not just a little bit happy about Mei Changsu noticing him – to the degree that the pale man even knew his name! - even if it was due to a book checkout record.

Then, Jingrui mustered up his courage, and blurted out, "I'd be happy to read with you! Want to check the book out together and read over coffee?"

Only then did he realize that Mei Changsu was nowhere in sight.

* * *

Yan Yujin was one of the brightest young men on campus. That wasn't to say he had a reputation for being particularly clever. But rather, that he was literally…bright. He wore flashy clothes with a pops of discordant color and always sported a huge, blinding smile on his boyishly handsome face. His every step was filled with cheer and energy.

Right now, that smile was turned up to max and its beams directed unerringly at the frail young man approaching him from the structure of doom called the main library.

"Oh good! You survived!" Yujin laughed as he bounded up to Mei Changsu, "You were in there for so long I thought we finally lost you!"

Mei Changsu sent him a dead-panned gaze, "And you couldn't be bothered to check on me?"

"Well…You were in the _library_!" Yujin whined.

Mei Changsu finally broke into a half grin. "Were you waiting for me?"

"Yes! We need a seeker for intramural quidditch but can you imagine?! Jingrui bailed on me! Bailed on _me_! How could he?"

By now, the only thing Yujin could do to appear more like a spoiled child…

"Oh, there we go," Mei Changsu internally grinned. Yujin had fallen in mock despair onto the lawn and was now hitting the innocent grass with vigor.

Yujin then turned his eyes to Mei Changsu, "Changsu my darling, you wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

Mei Changsu could only agree to fill in. Yujin was harmless and a good sport, as well as one of the few people who didn't treat Mei Changsu like an invalid.

Yujin was, of course, genuinely overjoyed.

Afterall, Changsu was _his_ darling. _He_ was the only one who realized that Changsu didn't like being treated as a delicate flower. _He_ was the only one who knew how to throw tantrums in order to make Changsu laugh.

And besides, he didn't really care that he'd thrown his childhood friend Jingrui under the bus – the boy was too serious for his own good. Who, _who_ , called poli-sci "political science" in casual conversation? Never mind that his serious and straight-laced friend didn't so much as hear about a quidditch game going on today even if he was the regular seeker on Yujin's team. Yujin knew for a fact that Changsu didn't need to be athletic to get the snitch. Instead, he merely decided the most likely off-pitch area the snitch would be wandering off to and intercept the poor thing. Yujin only hoped Changsu gave his team enough time to rack up points before he put the other team out of their misery.

* * *

As it turned out, the opposing team was led by Xiao Jinghuan, who, as soon as he realized Mei Changsu was the seeker, forcefully pushed his team's seeker into a convenient pool of mud and gallantly offered to fill in as seeker for his team while reappointing someone else to stand in as captain for the day.

Jinghuan knew Mei Changsu. Or rather, he knew that Mei Changsu has desperately in love with him. Jinghuan could see it in Mei Changsu's eyes every time he played basketball in the university's varsity court. Jinghuan wasn't on the varsity team, of course, but he knew the coach would make him captain if only Jinghuan would agree to join. But Jinghuan had career goals and networking to accomplish while in college and didn't want to waste his time on endless practices. He left that sort of muscle work to his younger brother.

But, when Jinghuan honored the varsity court on the rare lunch hours during which he wasn't rubbing shoulders with the crème de crème of rich scions on campus, he would unfailingly see that frail beauty of a genius scholar sitting on the bleachers. To make matters even more obvious, he'd seen the other man walking outside his house several times each week!

At first, he was a little put off. Mei Changsu was a man. He wasn't even a petite, big-eyed, pretty man. Instead, Mei Changsu was tall with long, slim limbs that would look toned if not for his overall frail appearance. And by frail, he meant the man didn't look healthy. His skin was pale in a constantly cold and tired sort of way – not pale like the pale of a beauty with rosiness budding through fair skin. His cheekbones were defined but not in the chiseled sharp look of a well-dressed dapper gentleman but rather in the gaunt way of a malnourished peasant. But the more Jinghuan came to the court – which was more and more often for some reason – the more he realized that Mei Changsu was beautiful.

He was poised in a manner that was ethereal and intelligent to a degree that defied any level of accrued learning but rather came from a natural gift that was combined with a deep sense of understanding and introspection. The man spoke with not just his clear and calm voice, but also with every gesture of his slender body and every gaze from his clear brown eyes. It was as if Jinghuan could understand every situation and proper reaction just from reacting to Mei Changsu's subtle instructions – the man would quite possibly be the greatest asset he could have if he wanted to make it big.

But even then, Jinghuan was reluctant to set aside his standards and deign to actually become romantically involved with Mei Changsu. Afterall, Jinghuan considered himself the best catch on campus and Mei Changsu, no matter how graceful and intelligent he was, was still a nerd, a business strategist at best, but hardly partner material based on appearances.

That was until he saw Mei Changsu smile. No, not the half-grin and small laughs he would bestow upon that clown Yujin, but a true smile. A smile that made Mei Changsu's eyes, usually as calm and still as pond surface on a chilly autumn day, come alive as if the water were freshly melted and glittering in the spring sun. A smile that made Mei Changsu's pale gaunt cheeks lift into those of a young boy throwing the first snowball of the season. A smile made while Mei Changsu was raising his slim arms up to cheer, showing off the snow-like silken skin usually hidden by layers of clothing.

Jinghuan was entranced at that moment. At that moment, Mei Changsu became the most singularly attractive entity. And in that moment, he knew Mei Changsu loved him because he was cheering for him despite Jinghuan not being able to score that turn. But for once, Jinghuan didn't even blame his younger brother for blocking his shot – which, by the way, _why_ did the varsity captain play intramural basketball anyways? Jinghuan was merciful because he was able to see Mei Changsu smile.

So Jinghuan was overjoyed to see that Mei Changsu was seeker today. He would use the game as an excuse to talk to Mei Changsu – so the pale man wouldn't faint from the joy of talking to Jinghuan out of the blue – and invite him to dinner.

At least, that was the plan.

However, as soon as the game started, the horrendously dressed snitch had zoomed off and after waiting the appropriate time, Mei Changsu also took off without so much as a glance in Jinghuan's direction.

Jinghuan's jaw dropped in shock but he picked himself back up again with a ready smirk. The vixen was playing hard to get!

* * *

Lin Chen was the most well-known medical student in the university. He published several papers in his first year of medical school for recognizing several repeated anomalies in arterial branching in the cadavers during gross anatomy. The field had been brushing these anomalies off as common occurrences for decades but Lin Chen was one of the first to question how these anomalies came to be and what effects they may have had on the daily lives of the people who once lived in these cadavers. And that was just the start of his career.

That wasn't to say Lin Chen was a proper and well-mannered student though. Lin Chen thoroughly enjoyed playing with people's minds and one his favorite friends – though Mei Changsu seemed to call the boy in question "his favorite victim" – was a pediatrics patient called Fei Liu.

It was on the occasion of Lin Chen convincing an initially disbelieving Fei Liu that the boy's hiccups were due to a rare disease that necessitated having a peacock tail tied to his waist for a whole day that Lin Chen met Mei Changsu.

The pale man had heard only part of the argument in passing and grinned almost imperceptibly. But he kept walking. Lin Chen paid him no mind at the time and quite proudly attached his home-made peacock tail on Fei Liu, meanwhile telling the boy that he also needed to cluck like a chicken to make the remedy work better.

Unfortunately for Lin Chen, he heard a most unwelcome sound come from behind himself before Fei Liu, in his wide-eyed disbelief, could start clucking. Lin Chen swirled this way and that, but couldn't find where the hiccupping sound was coming from.

He noticed too late that the pale young man had somehow made his way back and was now crouched next to Fei Liu with a kind expression in his clear brown eyes.

"Now Fei Liu, you are a kind child, aren't you?" The strange young man asked Lin Chen's favorite victim…er…friend.

Fei Liu seemed to recognize the young man because he smiled in what Lin Chen regarded as a much happier way than he usually did around Lin Chen.

"So you shouldn't be selfish. Instead, you should tie that peacock tail on Dr. Lin and tell him to cluck like a hen too, no?"

Fei Liu nodded with a serious expression and turned to Lin Chen with a look that Lin Chen would later describe as pure evil.

And so, the young prodigy of a doctor in training was forced to report to his resident while wearing a peacock tail and clucking that day – all to avoid being seen completely through by Fei Liu.

Needless to say, Lin Chen's pediatrics rotation didn't go so well.

After that initial meeting though, Lin Chen decided that he liked Mei Changsu. He liked this single entity whose intelligence and wit rivaled his own.

So when Lin Chen realized that Mei Changsu sometimes filled in as seeker for one of the intramural quidditch teams, he signed himself up as a snitch. After all, wouldn't it be exciting for that standoff-ish Mei Changsu to pursue and chase after him?

As it turned out, Mei Changsu did indeed pursue and chase after him.

So Lin Chen deliberately slowed his pace and hid behind a tree so that he could sneak up on Mei Changsu. Who knows, maybe the latter would even give a high-pitched yelp and jump into his embrace like some movie theatre cliché!

And so Lin Chen waited behind the tree. He noticed that the tree he picked was particularly tall and its leaves were particularly full. He wondered if he and Changsu would paint a pretty picture together if they leaned on each other while having a picnic under it. The setting sun soon set off splashes of orange and red that contrasted with the fresh green leaves and made the veins in each leaf shine.

And that was when it occurred to Lin Chen that the sun was setting. The game would have been called already even if the snitch hadn't been caught given that the non-official quidditch games before the championships had a time restriction.

To his chagrin, Lin Chen looked around and found Fei Liu staring innocently up at him from the very spot under the tree that Lin Chen had been imagining picnicking on. The innocent eyes creased and a streak of viciousness danced in them as the youth handed him a slip of paper. It was written by Mei Changsu's characteristically neat hand.

"I wanted to tell you that the yellow shorts you have on are inside out but you seemed distracted. Helped myself to the snitch. –Changsu."

* * *

When Jinghuan arrived home that day, he was in a foul mood. Mei Changsu was nowhere to be found after he took off. By the time Jinghuan got back to the pitch, it turned out Mei Changsu had already returned with the snitch and the game had ended.

His mood only darkened when he heard his younger brother laugh in the backyard. It only took a while longer before he heard a loud bark from that furry monstrosity Jingyan called a dog followed by chatter from the two little menaces whom Jingyan babysat from time to time. Technically, one of the menaces was their nephew Tingshen so that was unavoidable but Jinghuan was secretly hoping that Tingshen's friend Fei Liu would still be recovering from having his tonsils taken out.

He stomped into his room and slammed his door shut with aplomb.

Unfortunately for Jinghuan, he failed to notice the quieter additional voice that was now joining the others in laughter.

* * *

Jingyan was a serious young man who was destined to become one of those dreadfully boring and serious old men as he aged. Or, that was the case before he met Xiao Shu.

He was a serious young boy of six years and liked nothing more to do than to practice primary school math equations in the sandbox while his nanny knitted on the bench beside him until his father's secretary called her to take the chairman's youngest son home.

Xiao Shu was a living nightmare. Everywhere he went on the playground, he became king. He could swing the fastest and highest. He could wind through the monkey bars like a chimpanzee. He _jumped_ up the fort instead of climbing it. He thought the swinging rope was a decoration and the real purpose of that apparatus was for the children to walk the suspended cable that connected one end of it to the other – without a safety net.

And while sometimes Jingyan would look up at the little bundle of energy and admire his bravery, most times he thought the boy had no sense of self-preservation and it was miracle that the younger boy had reached his grand old age of four.

Then one day the apocalypse occurred. Xiao Shu invaded the sandbox.

Xiao Shu was a sturdy and tanned boy with an endearing lopsided smile and perfectly innocent bright eyes. Even as he flew off the swing at its highest point and landed with both feet perfectly planted on top of the problem Jingyan had just copied from his math book.

Jingyan huffed and shot Xiao Shu an annoyed glare while trying to brush off the sand that had flown up and landed all over his clothes and hair.

Surprisingly, Xiao Shu realized he was in the wrong and started trying to help Jingyan remove the sand.

But Jingyan soon noticed that Xiao Shu had started playing with his hair instead!

"Stop that!" Jingyan glared.

Xiao Shu gave him a dazzling smile and held out a hand, "I'm Xiao Zhu," he introduced himself with a slight butchering of his own name due to a missing baby tooth.

Which would have been a fine way to start off an apology and a budding friendship if the younger boy hadn't continued, "And I love your hair! Will you marry me?"

Which was definitely the wrong thing to say to anyone other than Jingyan – who was both serious and patient beyond his years.

And as such, Jingyan responded, for the first time in his few years so far, like a normal boy. He punched Xiao Shu.

Not one to be outdone, even by someone who had the softest and silkiest hair he'd ever touched, Xiao Shu socked him right back.

That night, Jingyan was scolded by his father for the first time. He was also grounded for the first time.

But he gained his first friend.

It wasn't until a month later that his father let him go back to the playground.

And Xiao Shu was waiting for him in the sandbox, loyally snapping at any other kids trying to play in it, and diligently copying math questions two years above his own grade onto the sand.

Touched, Jingyan called out, "Xiao Zhu!"

He was tackled this time, and then kicked.

"I'm not a little pig!" The younger boy cried out, not noticing that the tackle had destroyed all his meticulously written letters in the sand, "I'm Xiao Shu!"

Clearly, his tooth had grown back.

* * *

Mei Changsu, known as Xiao Shu to one person in the world, was in love. He had been in love for fifteen years. And yes, with the same man.

It was love at first sight.

The most serious looking child on the playground with the prettiest head of hair. That was all Xiao Shu knew about six year old Xiao Jingyan. He wanted to be friends with the boy. So he showed off to the best of his ability. He even walked the rope swing cable! But the older boy wouldn't lift up his dark eyes even at that.

So Xiao Shu did what little boys did best. They antagonized the object of their affections. And he was delighted when Jingyan punched him after his first ever confession. To four year old Xiao Shu, it was the first step in a long journey that he didn't even realize he had embarked upon.

It was also love at second sight.

Mei Changsu quite honestly had no idea that his childhood friend Xiao Jingyan played basketball. Well, he might have used his resources to snoop about harmless things – like which college Jingyan was attending, what his major was, and what clubs the unsuspecting water ox was in. So he knew Jingyan played basketball. But he didn't know _Jingyan played basketball._

Mei Changsu liked to think that over the years he had gotten more mature and graceful. But a good time after he saw Jingyan spinning and jumping and dunking and shooting, Mei Changsu found himself trying to find a mirror – on the off chance that he had missed some of the drool on his first pass.

Love at third sight occurred much too soon and Changsu hadn't even been able to get the image of Jingyan's sweat glistening down his neck during half-time out of his mind – not that he was really putting in much effort in that regard anyway – when he bumped into the now freshly showered and heavenly smelling varsity basketball captain in the library café. By that, he meant that he literally bumped into him.

The water ox made a striking image in his casual white button down and dark jeans. Mei Changsu was sure he himself also made a striking image – as a ball of puff wearing a flannel shirt under a wool sweater topped by a knitted scarf and covered in nothing less than a throw blanket.

The water ox showed his true colors when he realized one of his teammates "accidentally" tipped Mei Changsu's fresh cup of tea over. He still had the same brutally honest streak about him that Xiao Shu thought was desperately endearing. He was adamant that the teammate be released from first string until the entire team could tell him why exactly it was wrong to tip over someone's tea, even though "he appeared weak and the type to be bullied".

At that point, Mei Changsu didn't know whether he wanted to laugh or cry as the water ox said this description of Mei Changsu while the "weak and bullied" man was seated less than a meter away.

Instead, he did neither as he sat primly in his lounge seat and observed as the team tried to guess Jingyan's point. They stuttered from various mundane reasons including bullying the weak and looking down on others. Finally, Mei Changsu felt tired and decided to end it there.

His clear and calm voice cut through the increasingly lost voices of the team.

"I understand that you are dissatisfied with the team's lack of respect towards you, but your failure to correctly discipline your team doesn't make me a weak type who is easily bullied."

Looks of shame and understanding finally started appearing on the team's face. But Mei Changsu was focused on Jingyan. He remembered…ah…there! Jingyan's ears had gotten impossibly red even though he schooled the rest of his features.

"I…I said that?!"

Mei Changsu gave a small nod. Anyone else would have scrambled to say they didn't mean it. But Jingyan was still his honest self.

"I'm sorry," Jingyan apologized earnestly, "I shouldn't have said that and I don't condone this sort of thing for…for…ethical reasons either."

Mei Changsu was silent as he watched Jingyan struggle for words. He knew what he said to be true. But there was something to be said about watching Jingyan struggle. It was good to know that the Xiao Jingyan of his childhood still lived within the intimidatingly attractive and warmly charismatic varsity team captain and summa cum laude candidate of one of the most competitive universities in the country.

To Jingyan's credit, he tried his hardest to replace the tea by re-ordering what he thought was the same. Mei Changsu could only laugh as the water ox asked the girl behind the counter to replace his Superior Grade First Pick Longjing with Earl Grey. How he could get those two confused, Mei Changsu could only guess.

But the tea encounter benefitted Mei Changsu greatly. He now knew that the water ox was still a creature of habit and enjoyed studying on the lawn with his teammates when the sun was out. Better still was that Mei Changsu discovered a small alcove on the corner of the poli-sci section of the library that overlooked Jingyan's usual study spot. It soon became habit for him to pick a random book based on its binding and absentmindedly flip through it as he focused on more important things – like boy watching.

But Mei Changsu also had other goals in life. While his studies didn't require too much attention, he had made a promise with Dr. Yan to join at least one low impact sports club. It seemed that the simplest way to fulfill this promise was to sign up as seeker for the school's unofficial quidditch league. And more importantly, he even made a new friend at the university hospital when he went to meet his new primary care physician for the first time after his transfer.

Fei Liu proved to be an excellent aid for tracking the snitch. He also provided a perfect reason for Mei Changsu to casually walk by Jingyan's house under the pretense of looking for Fei Liu. That, and the child really was just about the best-behaved and mild-mannered individual Mei Changsu had ever met – aside from himself and Jingyan, of course.

It was on one such occasion that Mei Changsu got caught.

He was scrolling in on a bright afternoon, knowing that Jingyan would likely be coming out for a jog around now.

And soon enough, he was rewarded by the sight of Jingyan leaving the house in this jogging shorts. Soon, he began jogging on his usual route around the neighborhood.

Mei Changsu sat down on a bench close by to wait. His body wasn't back in prime condition yet, so trying to jog after Jingyan while not being too obvious was out of the question.

But he barely sat down before he felt a warm and strong pair of arms wrap around him.

Startled, Mei Changsu stiffened until he processed enough to realize who the arms belonged to. But before he could get a word in, the arms already disappeared and instead, Jingyan leapt over the back of the bench and was now facing Mei Changsu.

"Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you?"

The dark brown eyes gazing at him were intent and searching. They contained a certain mix of disbelief, a dash of worry, a large pinch of indignation, and several gallons of relief and joy.

Well and truly caught. And really not much else to say.

"I'm back."

Mei Changsu considered saying more or asking which of his borderline stalking activities gave him away. But he didn't get a chance.

He was pulled into quite possibly the tightest hug he'd ever received. But it was surprisingly comfortable. The chest he'd been crushed against was warm and solid, the arms were strong and held him tightly but gently, and…Jingyan was crying.

Mei Changsu felt his own eyes grow red and swell as well. He buried his face into the warm nook of Jingyan's neck and hugged Jingyan back with as much force as he could muster. And only then did he truly feel that he had returned home.

* * *

Jingyan felt a small shiver from the thin man whose entire body had somehow wound its way on top of his. He supposed Changsu was cold. The sun had set a while ago. Tingshen and Fei Liu were picked up by their respective families, leaving just Changsu and himself, as well as Fo Ya, in the backyard. Changsu was adamant that he wanted to stay outside a little longer and lie on the grass but somehow both of them had fallen asleep.

At this angle, Jingyan could see the hollows cast by the moonlight on Changsu's face. They reminded him that while Changsu was perfectly healthy now, he was still recovering. But they also reminded him that Changsu was Xiao Shu. The way that Xiao Shu liked to turn his head towards Jingyan's even in his sleep hadn't changed since their sleepover days. The way that Xiao Shu wrinkled his nose when Jingyan blew on it hadn't changed. And the way that Xiao Shu would unfailingly latch onto Jingyan's hair as long as they were sleeping in close enough proximity hadn't changed either. But the shadows cast by the younger man's arm that reached towards Jingyan's hair had changed. They were longer now – and leaner too.

Jingyan could easily admit to himself that his little pig had grown into a beauty. His intellect was as astounding as it always was – but it had matured into something that enthralled Jingyan more completely than a four year old half-bragging, half-teaching six year old Jingyan math ever could. But the occasional flashes of that childlike arrogance, self-assurance, stubbornness, immaturity, and love of fun attracted him just as much. And they really weren't as occasional as Mei Changsu would like others to believe. But then again, Jingyan harbored a quiet confidence that his observation and understanding of Mei Changsu couldn't be categorized with those of "others".

Unbidden, Jingyan's fingers gently traced the smooth lines of Mei Changsu's face. Changsu didn't have the sharp angled bone structure that made Jingyan's classically handsome face a thing a campus forum posts. But he had a cool sort of becomingness that made Jingyan want to commit the image of his sleeping face to memory. And all this without even addressing the expressiveness hidden in those calm-appearing pools he called eyes! Or that bewitching combination of his quirked lips, flushed cheeks, and crinkling eyes that he called a smile!

He felt Changsu shiver again, despite the warmth radiating from Jingyan's body. It was time to get his…friend…to bed. Jingyan slowly lifted himself up, and Changsu by virtue of the pale man draping himself over Jingyan, until he could sit. He then adjusted his arms so that one arm was wrapped under Changsu's upper back and the other was under Changsu's long legs. He stood up and princess-carried Changsu, careful to cradle Changsu's head under his chin while lightly whistling at Fo Ya to stop blocking the patio door. With some difficulty, Jingyan was able to open the patio door and quietly pad up the stairs until he reached his bedroom. He gently placed Changsu on his bed and moved to close the door.

Or, he tried to move.

But Changsu had somehow woken up between the time Jingyan put him on the bed and the time Jingyan tried to free his arms from under the pale man.

…Or… Jingyan was not one to accuse people, but he knew Changsu too well. He narrowed his eyes at the man lying on his bed, and still in his embrace.

Changsu tilted his head innocently, but the familiar mischievous twinkle in his eyes gave him away. He burst into laughter at the unamused expression on Jingyan's face.

"Shh," Jingyan gestured as he noted the time on his alarm clock by the bed, "Jinghuan's asleep already."

"Do you think I care?"

Jingyan shot him a look.

"Shouldn't you?"

"Why should I?"

Jingyan had given up on trying to get his arms free at that point and instead knelt down by the side of the bed so that he at least wouldn't be hunched over Changsu. He was close enough that the moonlight illuminating Changsu's face was sufficient for him to decide his friend was truly oblivious.

Jingyan felt a surge of satisfaction rise in him but he pushed it down as he enunciated, "Because he says you're in love with him."

Jingyan expected Changsu to laugh or to look stunned. Instead, the younger man merely gazed at him with a neutral expression.

"Well? Say something!"

Changsu was silent a little longer, before finally breathing, "What do you want me to say?"

Jingyan looked at Changsu, flabbergasted. What did _he_ want Xiao Shu to say? He wanted to know how Xiao Shu felt! But what if Xiao Shu really did like Jinghuan? Shouldn't be… Can't be! Jingyan felt shutters closing down around him as he tried his hardest to deny that last thought.

Then, like a clear, sharp trill breaking the morn, he heard Xiao Shu saying it again, "What do you want me to say?"

Jingyan understood. Just as he always understood what Xiao Shu meant – sometimes they understood each other without words; other times Jingyan needed a hint. On the rare occasion, he needed two hints.

He had only just been reunited with his childhood friend this semester after thirteen years apart. It would take more than a few months to get used to that high frequency wavelength that Xiao Shu lived in again, but in many ways it felt like coming home. Mei Changsu. Xiao Shu was a nickname. Or rather, for the first few weeks of their re-acquaintance, it seemed that Xiao Shu left as a bald but boisterous child and returned as a completely different being called Mei Changsu. Mei Changsu who won the battle against his childhood leukemia. Mei Changsu who, despite his illness, managed to skip two grades and ended up in the same graduating class as Jingyan - never mind that the little upstart had somehow gotten his grubby hands on one of the most prestigious international scholarships to study here. But Mei Changsu had also suffered too much.

But Mei Changsu was still Xiao Shu, just Xiao Shu grown up. And Jingyan supposed that he himself had changed since his sandbox days. Yet some things didn't change. Like needing a few hints. Or like a rare streak of possessiveness in a child who was the epitome of good behavior.

Jingyan looked Mei Changsu straight in the eyes.

"I want you to say you're in love with me."

And for the first time in far too long a time, Xiao Shu looked well and truly stunned.

The expression only lasted a second though.

In the next second, Jingyan saw what he could only describe as Mei Changsu. The man on his bed had an air of seriousness and maturity around him that made it impossible for him to be Xiao Shu. But he also had a fire in his eyes that made it impossible for him to be anyone but Xiao Shu.

Their gazes held for a long time. Long enough that it was rude. Long enough to be awkward if it were anyone but the two of them.

But also much too short for Jingyan, who felt that his breath was coming up shorter and shorter as Mei Changsu parted his lips.

"I'm in love with you."

His words were soft but thundering like a prayer.

Jingyan wanted to confirm. He wanted to hear them again. But he didn't _need_ a confirmation. And he didn't _need_ to hear them again. He _needed_ to kiss Mei Changsu.

But as with the history of their relationship, the initiative was rarely Jingyan's. Xiao Shu, Mei Changsu, the love of his life, had unceremoniously tugged Jingyan's treasured locks until their faces collided and the only thing either one of the two could feel was the texture of the other's lips and the temperature of the other's body.

And needless to say, they lived happily ever after.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed!


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